Ara Damansara

Source: TheStar

THE road linking Ara Damansara and Tropicana in Petaling Jaya has yet to open despite an order by the Selangor Mentri Besar to do so a month ago.

This was one of the measures requested by Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim last month after a meeting with Bandar Utama City Corporation and Dijaya Corporation Bhd following the closure of Jalan Tanjung in Bandar Utama.

No access: The road linking Tropicana and Ara Damansara is cordoned off by a metal hoarding with a padlocked gate.

The link was supposed to be opened about two years ago but Tropicana residents had protested against the opening.

Residents had wanted the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to upgrade the Tropicana tunnel to ease traffic congestion.

The tunnel, which only had two lanes previously, was finally completed in August and now has two lanes for traffic each way.

A check by StarMetro at the site of the missing link situated near the Damansara Idaman bungalows found that there are still hoardings and a steel gate blocking off the road while a barrier closed off the road from the Ara Damansara side.

There are street lights and road kerbs along the 100m link but the gravel road is overgrown with weeds. An occasional motorcycle can be seen passing through the gap in the hoardings to use the road.

According to MBPJ secretary Puasa Md Taib, the road would be opened soon.

“The opening of the road involves cost to the council so we have had to discuss it in detail and come up with the design to connect the two roads,” he said.